(By Paul Prentice) Coloradans recently got a ballot in the mail. As we vote in the coming days, remember that America’s founders understood quite well that we have a Creator God and that he gave us free will. They also understood that the proper exercise of that free will involves choosing God’s moral code over other behavioral regimes.
Remember that America is the first nation in world history founded on the idea that it takes a moral and religious citizenry, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, to create a truly free society.
And what does this have to do with Colorado Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) and Proposition CC (PropCC)? Allow me to explain.
In 1776 a great moral philosopher discovered that, wherever men were more free, they became more prosperous. His book, “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” (aka “Wealth of Nations”) followed his earlier book, “The Theory of Moral Sentiments”.
Those two books by Adam Smith sailed around the world at the speed of ship and together helped to form the basis for a new way of thinking. That thinking that came to fruition in the American colonies of Great Britain – God created us to be free to pursue our individual interests, in the context of His moral code.
Of course, the concepts of freedom and liberty go far back in time to the first two books of the Bible, Genesis and Exodus. In Genesis, man is given the freedom to choose even against his own Creator. In Exodus, God’s people struggled against their Egyptian bondage and won the freedom to form their own nation.
The American Pilgrims held this Biblical worldview of Creator-endowed liberty. The insights of Adam Smith expanded the understanding that liberty involved having a free economy.
Now we can fast-forward to Colorado’s TABOR. By the early 1990s, citizens concluded that the State government had become too intrusive and too expensive, thus endangering our liberty. You cannot have an ever-larger government and maintain a free society.
Accordingly, in 1992, voters chose to constrain growth in the State government to increased population plus inflation, unless they specifically voted to allow the State to spend more. That way, inflation-adjusted spending remained constant on a per-capita basis and could only grow beyond that if voters so approved.
Over time, voters occasionally approved of a TABOR override and courts gradually weakened the constraint. Nevertheless, partly due to the TABOR constraint on government, the Colorado economy became the fastest-growing in the country. Voters retained their right to have a say in State spending. By constraining government, citizens increased their liberty and became more prosperous – just as Adam Smith said.
Finally, we get to Proposition CC. We will use words directly from the ballot, “Without raising taxes …”.
Wait a minute. PropCC is expected to allow the State to keep and spend $1.5 billion over the next three years alone. If government collects and keeps more of your tax money, that is a tax increase by any normal definition by normal people. That is $1.5 billion of your dollars that you do not get to spend on your own values.
“… to better fund public schools, higher education, and roads, bridges, and transit …” Even with TABOR constraints, State spending more than quadrupled over the past 25 years. And still the politicians want more – always more. Did that increase in spending yield any better education and infrastructure? By any reasonable measure, I think not.
“… may the State keep and spend all the revenue it annually collects after June 30, 2019 …” That is not asking for a one-year suspension of TABOR. Annually means every year. This year; next year; the year after that; and forever.
The passage of Proposition CC would for all intents and purposes mark the end of constraints by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights on State spending--and the end of your right to be asked for permission on an ever-growing government. Vote with care!
Dr. Paul Prentice is a professor in Colorado Springs and an economics fellow of the Centennial Institute. Contact: pprentice100@gmail.com